I love this! And i feel this so deeply — it feels building technology is no longer driven by the motive of building for human progress, it’s driven by this quest for virality
'Paid by the view' has a lot to answer for in our modern media era. I can't think of a worse way to distort our world view if all we see are the things connected by our common tendency to be a voyeur of the content that passes by us.
I feel like part of this might be because it's increasingly difficult to tell a positive story about tech's impact on society in the past 10-15 years. Steve Jobs-style optimism just doesn't ring true with general public anymore, and I would argue for good reason, so for marketing purposes rage bait is all that's left.
What accomplishments can the tech industry point to over the past decade? Well, it's things like:
- Social media and short-form video apps that are increasingly designed to be addictive, where many of their own users find using them unfulfilling, and are shredding our attentions spans and damaging democracy.
- Crypto in general, which seems to be mainly a tool for extremely speculative trading and illicit activities.
- Generative AI, which is taking jobs from creatives, producing mediocre slop, degrading the internet, worsening many people's mental health and social connectedness, and yet is endlessly overhyped with creepy, grandiose rhetoric that isn't being matched in reality. (Yes, there are real uses, but if you're not a programmer it's mainly a better version of Google, which isn't nothing to be clear).
- The whole phenomenon of enshittification, where apps become popular and then get steadily degraded and/or more expensive as companies need to make money (Uber, streaming TV, arguably google search itself).
- Gambling apps in general (including prediction markets, which frankly don't yet seem to have any socially beneficial use case, they're just another avenue for gambling).
- B2B SaaS and the cloud, which is nice and good, but isn't really directly impacting normal people's lives.
I'm sure there are lots of idealistic nerds in Silicon Valley still, but time and again we see that idealism turn into products that prey on people. You can see this shift happening already with AI, where Sam Altman is now going to push advertising in ChatGPT and soon explicitly enabling people to use it as a companion or sex bot. Ultimately, these companies need money from investors, and investors will demand returns by any means necessary.
Great Article! I love the Bay Area, but it sounds like it's losing its soul! Western Civilization, with its emphasis on individualism, is not sustainable if we live in an economy where rage-baiting trolls rise to the top.
What I take from this is how fast the performance can drown out the real work. Feeds make everything feel louder than it is. Out in the world, most people are just trying to build something that lasts.
I would pay for an app that removed any mention of Trump from my social media and news streams. I agree, disengage and remove the air that fans the fire of lies and misinformation. Nothing would piss Trump off more than silence. He wants a audience, he needs a audience.
That bit about grifting is why I can't help but be sceptical whenever someone mentions AI and edtech in the same sentence.
Have been pleasantly surprised by some founders looking to help with "wicked" problems in schools, among the many who decided to build something they think schools need without ever talking to them... ugh
Thanks for your insights and writing. This sentence hit me hard for some reason: "New York may be static and decadent, they implied, but at least it has shame."
"The viral trend that made me saddest involved young women tweeting thirst traps to announce that they just joined a startup and were looking to make friends in tech."
Maybe unabashed American Psycho materialism really is all the rage in the tech scene. The blue-haired hipster socialists with no access to elite startup jobs and who elsewhere exist in the bay would find this appalling.
I love this! And i feel this so deeply — it feels building technology is no longer driven by the motive of building for human progress, it’s driven by this quest for virality
'Paid by the view' has a lot to answer for in our modern media era. I can't think of a worse way to distort our world view if all we see are the things connected by our common tendency to be a voyeur of the content that passes by us.
Now THAT is a big apple!
Thank u for appreciating the symbolism
There's truly no better solution to the bait than talking to your neighbors about how fast and free buses are possible
Excellent post!
the Analog event looks fun! very curious about ag-tech and zines lately–will try to be there with Roshan!! :)
hope to see u there!
I feel like part of this might be because it's increasingly difficult to tell a positive story about tech's impact on society in the past 10-15 years. Steve Jobs-style optimism just doesn't ring true with general public anymore, and I would argue for good reason, so for marketing purposes rage bait is all that's left.
What accomplishments can the tech industry point to over the past decade? Well, it's things like:
- Social media and short-form video apps that are increasingly designed to be addictive, where many of their own users find using them unfulfilling, and are shredding our attentions spans and damaging democracy.
- Crypto in general, which seems to be mainly a tool for extremely speculative trading and illicit activities.
- Generative AI, which is taking jobs from creatives, producing mediocre slop, degrading the internet, worsening many people's mental health and social connectedness, and yet is endlessly overhyped with creepy, grandiose rhetoric that isn't being matched in reality. (Yes, there are real uses, but if you're not a programmer it's mainly a better version of Google, which isn't nothing to be clear).
- The whole phenomenon of enshittification, where apps become popular and then get steadily degraded and/or more expensive as companies need to make money (Uber, streaming TV, arguably google search itself).
- Gambling apps in general (including prediction markets, which frankly don't yet seem to have any socially beneficial use case, they're just another avenue for gambling).
- B2B SaaS and the cloud, which is nice and good, but isn't really directly impacting normal people's lives.
I'm sure there are lots of idealistic nerds in Silicon Valley still, but time and again we see that idealism turn into products that prey on people. You can see this shift happening already with AI, where Sam Altman is now going to push advertising in ChatGPT and soon explicitly enabling people to use it as a companion or sex bot. Ultimately, these companies need money from investors, and investors will demand returns by any means necessary.
The huge international ecosystem of how-to YouTube channels gets very little notice but it has changed the world.
if Cuomo had managed to win, I’d be much more inclined to agree with the characterization of NYC as “static and decadent.”
but he didn’t.
Great Article! I love the Bay Area, but it sounds like it's losing its soul! Western Civilization, with its emphasis on individualism, is not sustainable if we live in an economy where rage-baiting trolls rise to the top.
What I take from this is how fast the performance can drown out the real work. Feeds make everything feel louder than it is. Out in the world, most people are just trying to build something that lasts.
Totally agree! Hate the trend of ragebait startup videos that Cluely really kicked off.
I would pay for an app that removed any mention of Trump from my social media and news streams. I agree, disengage and remove the air that fans the fire of lies and misinformation. Nothing would piss Trump off more than silence. He wants a audience, he needs a audience.
That bit about grifting is why I can't help but be sceptical whenever someone mentions AI and edtech in the same sentence.
Have been pleasantly surprised by some founders looking to help with "wicked" problems in schools, among the many who decided to build something they think schools need without ever talking to them... ugh
Thanks for your insights and writing. This sentence hit me hard for some reason: "New York may be static and decadent, they implied, but at least it has shame."
Marc Andreessen needs to touch grass
"The viral trend that made me saddest involved young women tweeting thirst traps to announce that they just joined a startup and were looking to make friends in tech."
Maybe unabashed American Psycho materialism really is all the rage in the tech scene. The blue-haired hipster socialists with no access to elite startup jobs and who elsewhere exist in the bay would find this appalling.